Red in my Ledger

Chapter Twenty-Five

You and Bucky had sat on the floor of the hallway outside the conference room.
You couldn't hear what they were saying, so you were waiting patiently for them to come out.
They would raise their voices occasionally, yell at each other, but through the closed door it was still hard to understand.
It ended up taking a lot longer than five minutes, like the Secretary said it would.
Eventually you heard the door swung open. You and Bucky stood up just as the Secretary walked out.
He paused in front of you, rolled his eyes, then marched off in the opposite direction.
The others came out looking proud of themselves.
"Did you do it?" Bucky asked.
"We did it" Tony smirked.
"What exactly did you do?" you wondered.
"We made sure you're not going to jail" Natasha said. "There will be some punishment, but nothing too bad. You'll be okay."
You were so relieved that you gave Natasha a hug.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome" she smiled, hugging you back.
"Okay we gotta go" Tony said.
"Where?" you asked.
"Um. Small press conference."
"Why have I gotta come?"
"Well, um..."
"Tony what did you do?"
"Don't be mad... I called the press so we could, you know, tell the world you're back."
"What?!"
"Y/n, you're a Stark. There a lot of people that know about you..."
"What are you gonna do when they ask where I've been for the past twenty-two years?!"
"I-"
"And there's going to be people who recognise me! I mean, the Winter Widow didn't exactly wear a mask or anything! That guy knew who I was-"
"Y/n..."
"And I guarantee you that there are people out there who want me dead. I don't think going on live television is..."
"Okay y/n calm down" Tony interrupted. "It's completely fine. There are people that want me dead too. There's probably people out there that want all the avengers dead. And you know what, we might as well control the way people find out about you rather than it becoming a breaking news story. If we try to hide it, they'll think something is wrong. But if you really don't want to do this..."
You stared at Tony. He was right. If you tried to keep your identity a secret, there would be more questions when people found out.
"Fine."
"Great, let's go."
"Now?"
"Yeah now" Tony was already walking off.
"Okay coming" you called.
You waved to Bucky then caught up with Tony.
You picked up Tony's hand and held it for support as you walked. You didn't see, but Tony smiled at you as you did.
You walked out the tower. There was a car waiting for you on the street.
Tony opened the door for you, and you climbed in.
He sat next to you, and the man in the front seat started driving.
"Y/n, this is Happy. Happy, y/n."
"Hi Happy."
"Hey" he nodded, looking back at you on the rear view mirror.
"He doesn't look very happy" you whispered to Tony.
"I heard that" Happy called.
"He's just bummed that there's another Stark."
"Are you really that annoying?"
"You have no idea" he chuckled.
You smiled. You were starting to like the idea of having a brother.
———
The car pulled up in front of a large building that I didn't recognise.
There was a small crowd outside. I assumed there was a much larger one inside.
Happy got out the front and opened the door.
Tony got out first, and I followed. He offered his arm; I took it.
We walked indoors, where a woman walked over.
She planted a kiss on Tony's cheek.
"Hi" Tony smiled at her. "Sorry I'm late."
"When are you ever not late to your own event" she sighed. She looked at me. "You must be y/n. I'm Pepper Potts."
"Hi Pepper" I shook her hand politely.
"Come on let's go" she guided us into a room.
It was full of people, incredibly loud with the voices of everyone chattering.
They quietened down when they noticed Tony walk in.
I was next to him, but at this point they didn't know who I was.
We walked to the front of the room, where there was a stage with a lectern.
I stood by the side of the stage with Pepper, as Tony went up and addressed the many reporters in the room.
I didn't pay much attention to what he was saying as I was looking out across the room.
So many reporters. A whole lot of cameras. Everyone would know.
"I'd like to formerly introduce you to y/n Stark."
No backing out now.
I was pushed onto the small stage and I stood next to Tony.
The crowd clapped and applauded. Just wait until they find out that I'm an assassin, I thought.
They started with questions.
"Mr Stark, where has she been all this time?"
I looked at Tony. I was very interested in what he had to say.
"As most of you know, y/n was in the car with my parents when it crashed. She did not die, obviously. She was taken as a baby. To the Red Room. She was trained her entire life to be an assassin..."
Oh cause this wasn't going to freak anyone out.
"But last week, the Red Room was destroyed. The leader, Dreykov, was killed. We found y/n, and we brought her home. She was given the chemical counter agent that freed her from... mind control basically."
That wasn't the full story. But the full story would definitely make things a lot worse.
"Will y/n become an avenger like you?"
"No" I laughed. I completely forgot that I was standing in front of all these people. "I mean, I don't have super powers or special skills or suits... or anything like that."
"Mr Stark said that you were trained to be an assassin in the Red Room. Doesn't that make you as qualified as Black Widow?"
"I have no interest of becoming an Avenger."
"No?" Tony whispered next to me.
"What? No" I whispered back. "You know, the whole I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."
"Not even bad guys?"
"No."
"Right, of course" he said quietly to me, then turned back to the microphone. "Y/n will not be a part of the avengers... until further notice."
I rolled my eyes. That's not what I said.
"Okay no more questions" Tony decided.
He took my arm and we walked off the stage together.
"How was that?" Tony asked.
"It didn't go as horribly as I imagined" I admitted.
"Well it's over now. We can go home."
"That took like five minutes. The drive over was longer."
"We can stay longer if you want. Discuss more about your past and-"
"Okay no. Let's just go home."
———
Back at the Tower...
The Avengers were in the living room. They had been watching you and Tony on the TV. Then they had put on a movie and were watching that together when you and Tony walked in.
"Hey guys" you said. Most of them said 'hi' back.
You were going to sit next to Bucky, but he was sitting at the end of the couch with Yelena already next to him. There was no room. You went to sit on the couch between Natasha and Clint instead. It was the opposite side of the room.
Bucky gave you a questioning look.
You shrugged.
He subtly patted his lap.
You shook your head slightly.
He shrugged a little.
You nodded your head towards Yelena.
He raised his eyebrow teasingly and put his arm around her. Yelena cuddled up to him, not noticing what he was doing.
You rolled your eyes at him, smirking to yourself.
You looked at him, and he met you with an apologetic expression.
You smiled softly at him. He smiled back at you.
You looked up at Tony, frowning at you.
"What?" you asked.
"Did you guys just have a whole conversation?"
"Who?"
"You and Barnes."
"No."
"You did. You just had a whole ass conversation about something."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Tony."
"Hm. Okay" he nodded slowly.
He turned away briefly, so you looked at Bucky and winked. He winked back.
"I saw that!" Tony cried.
"Saw what?" Bucky asked innocently.
Tony narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
He sat down on the couch.
"Sup Point-Break" he said to the man next to him.
You leaned over and whispered to Natasha next to you.
"Is that Thor?"
"Yeah."
"Like the Thor? Of Asgard?"
"Mhm."
Thor noticed you looking at him and he smiled at you.
"When did he get here?" you asked Nat.
"Yesterday. He came for the party, and he's here to stay for a while I think."
"Hm... oh how are things with you and Steve" you asked quietly. Steve was sitting on the other side of Natasha.
"Good. He asked me to dinner tomorrow night."
"That's great."
"Mhm. Did Bucky tell you anything about how it went with Yelena? She said they were having a good time."
"Um, he didn't say anything to me. But look at them, they seem great for each other" you looked at them across the room. Bucky still had his arm around her; they were talking and smiling together.
When you turned back to talk to Natasha, Bucky looked up at you. He smiled at you without you noticing.